Chapter 11 – Conned

Edward arrived home that Sunday night, just as he said he would, and because of the late hour, I was already in bed. I had been so anxious for his return - unsure if I would feel differently towards him due to the revelation of his shady past -that I actually planned to pretend to be sleeping, just to give me one more night to consider everything. However, when the bed dipped from him climbing besides me, and I felt his sweet warm embrace as he cuddled up to me, I knew I was powerless against him. It didn't matter that he was keeping his past from me, or that I only met him a few months prior, my love for him was so incredibly strong that I was willing to give up absolutely everything just to stay with him.

When Edward's cuddles made it impossible for me to continue with my sleeping charade, I turned towards him and immediately started kissing him. We didn't even verbalize a hello before we made love, and that was perfectly fine with me. I needed him, and I was desperate to keep him as close to me as physically possible.

We spent the entire night making love once again, and by the time I woke up the next morning, I was terrified. So much had happened while he was gone, and a major part of me wanted to figure out a way to handle it all without telling him anything. I didn't want him to feel defensive or worry I was accusing him of anything. All I ever wanted to do was make him feel secure enough in our relationship that he felt he could come clean on his own, but that was no longer an option. My latest discover meant I absolutely needed him to tell me the truth, and we were running out of time…

"Good morning," I murmured as he began to stir.

"It certainly is," he replied with a lazy smile while caressing his hand up my bare back.

"I missed you," I told him softly.

"Ah, babe, you have no idea how much I missed you. Did you have a good visit with your family?"

"It was definitely memorable," I told him. "But what's important is how your visit with your mom went. Must have been a little awkward at first?" I asked, praying for some kind of hint that would prove he was actually where he said he was.

"Yeah, it was weird being back there," he said before quickly changing the subject. "Why don't you stay in bed, and I will bring you some breakfast," he said before kissing me quickly, and then getting dressed and retreating from the room.

As much as I would have loved to just lie back, relax, and pretend that I didn't have a life altering conversation I needed to have with him, I knew I couldn't put it off any longer. We needed to hash it all out as soon as possible, so we could figure out what to do next.

So I got dressed, and joined him in the kitchen as he looked to be starting breakfast.

"Hey, why'd you get up?" he asked, surprised to see me walk into the room.

"I need to talk to you about something," I told him hesitantly.

"Okay, what's going on?" he asked distractedly as he cracked the eggs into the pan.

"Morning," Jasper said as he came into the kitchen.

"Good morning," I said with a mix of disappointment and relief. I certainly couldn't discuss everything in front of him.

Alice danced into the kitchen as well, so the four of us sat together and ate in a heavy silence; though, I was sure we all stayed quiet for different reasons.

As soon as we were done eating, Alice helped clear the table, and then Edward started in on the dishes.

"Here, you cooked, so let me," I said while reaching for the sponge.

"Nah, I'm happy to do it," he said, refusing to give it to me. "Trust me, it's definitely good to be home."

I stood there and watched him clean for a moment, and just for that moment, I tried to picture him with long bleached out hair, and a dirty beard covering hollow cheeks, and sunken eyes glossed over with some sort of narcotic haze. I had a pretty good imagination, but it was hard to connect that image to the beautiful, vibrant, healthy man I saw before me.

"James," I said, no louder than a whisper. I didn't plan to say it, but it just refused to stay contained and somehow snuck out of my lips.

Edward didn't stop cleaning. He didn't even pause for a second, so I wasn't sure if he didn't hear me, or if the name really didn't mean anything and didn't cue his reflexive response. I was praying for the latter. Perhaps it had all been a misunderstanding and he had nothing to do with James Anthony.

"I'm sorry, Bells, did you just say James?" Jasper asked me. I hadn't even realized he was still sitting there, but his question was definitely heard by Edward, so he stopped his dishes and turned back to me confused.

"Yeah… James," I said louder. Edward continued to look at me confused, but didn't seem to respond negatively in any other way, so I lost my nerve and tried to cover it up. "James - something," I told Jasper on a whim. "Remember? The other day I was trying to think of the name of the guy who sang that 'You're Beautiful' song? It was James something."

"James… Blunt?" Jasper said confused, clearly not knowing what I was talking about since we never discussed any song. But because Jasper was so awesome, he picked up quickly enough and played along.

"James Blunt. That's right," I said, then tried to change the subject. "So, Jazz, are you still thinking about going into town today?"

"Uh…" Again, Jasper had to play along since it was never anything we had talked about ahead of time. "Yeah… to go… shopping?" he asked me confused. I nodded so he repeated himself more confidently. "Yes, I am going into town today to go shopping."

"Are you driving again?" Edward asked him surprised. "I can drive you if you need to get something," he offered.

"Uh, do I need him to drive me?" Jasper asked me perplexed.

"No. Jasper, you are so silly. You drove yourself into town on Friday. Remember?" I asked him, which was actually the truth. Jasper was finally cleared by his team of doctors to drive again, so he had eagerly regained that little bit of independence.

"Oh, well, that's awesome!" Edward told him enthusiastically. "Congrats, man."

"Thanks. Yeah, it was nice to get behind the wheel a little," Jasper replied.

"Hey Alice, wouldn't you like to go shopping with Jasper?" I asked her. "There's a lot of good deals right now. You can get a dent on your Christmas list."

"Um…" Jasper looked at me questionably, so I nodded some encouragement, but certainly didn't have to convince Alice. She was practically bouncing with anticipation.

"Please?" I whispered to him. "I promise, she will be fine," I added.

"Uh…O-Okay," he said nervously. "You ready to go, darling?" he asked Alice.

She smiled her widest grin, and nodded excitedly.

"Well, let's go then," Jasper said before shooting Edward and me a small wave, and then the two of them left.

"That was… interesting," Edward said after a minute. "So… let me guess, you just want to spend the day in bed, and didn't want to have to worry about the children?" he joked.

I smiled at him, because it was incredibly hard not to, but quickly fell serious again. I had no idea how long Jasper and Alice would be gone for, so I didn't want to waste any time.

"Edward… Who is James Anthony?" I asked bluntly. I was hanging onto a small ledge of hope that perhaps the man in the mug shot was just a relative who shared similar features, but the sudden blank look on Edward's face spoke volumes…

"Where did you hear that name?" he asked evenly.

"Can you just answer the question?" I asked anxiously.

He stared at me for another few beats, and then he sighed. "I guess, technically it's me… Or it was me, at one point."

I was completely stunned by his casual admission, in fact, I wasn't even sure I heard him right. "You're James Anthony?"

He stared at me for another moment, and then, he nodded. "James Anthony is a name I have gone by in the past."

"It's a name you've gone by in the past?" I repeated, mostly as a way to let it sink in. "What does that even mean?"

"What do you think it means?" he asked evenly.

"I don't know!" I cried out of pure stress and frustration. How could he hold on to the secrets of his past so tightly, and then just admit whatever I was accusing him of so easily? What was I even accusing him of?

"I think you do know," he countered. "Did Emmett tell you? I remember him mentioning something about having a buddy on the police force once during one of our phone calls." He shook his head ever so slightly. "You know, I knew this was going to happen. The moment I read about Laurent getting arrested last week, I knew somehow this would all get back to you," he said with a level of detached resolve and acceptance in his voice that I certainly wasn't expecting.

I swallowed hard. "So… Its all true then?"

"Is what true? My mile long rap sheet?"

A single tear spilled over my cheek, but I refused to allow another one escape. I didn't want to break down in that moment. We were finally getting somewhere, and I needed to stay focused.

"You promised me you never hurt anyone."

"Yeah, well when my step dad was beating my mom with a stick, and I stepped in to protect her, I got hit with an assault charge. She wasn't willing to press charges against him, but he was more than happy to press them against me. I was eighteen, so of course it's on my permanent record… Well, it's on James Anthony's permanent record. I didn't actually hurt anyone physically, that piece of shit doesn't count as a person, so I wasn't really lying when you asked me that."

I nodded absently. "And the other charges? Do you have excuses for them too? Or why you have been lying about your name?"

"I have no excuses for the other charges. I was homeless at sixteen…"

"You just said…"

He nodded. "I was homeless at sixteen, but after being busted for shoplifting, I was sent back home and forced to stay there for a couple of years."

"And then what?" I asked, hoping he'd continue with the truth - if he was even telling me the truth at all.

"And then what, what?" he asked with bitterness laced in his words. "I don't know what exactly you want me to tell you here. I'm sure you have a print out of some sort with all my past horrible deeds. I bet you even have one of my many mug shots. Which one is it? The one where I look like an emo goth? The shaved head? The drugged out surfer? The dirty hobo? … I've been arrested multiple times on multiple charges. You read the report, right? So what more do you want to know?"

"I want to know why. Why did you do all of that?"

"Yeah, I'm sure you would want to know why. I'm sure the daughter of a detective couldn't possibly fathom why anyone would commit any crimes for any reasons." He shook his head again. "I'm a high school drop out. Doing and selling drugs is what people from my old neighborhood did when they didn't know how else to support themselves. The rest of it just went along with it."

"But you're not doing drugs anymore?" I asked concerned.

"No. Look, there are two types of people that comes from neighborhoods like the one I grew up in. Either they fall victims to their own never-ending shit cycle of drugs and violence, or eventually they decide they've had enough and do whatever possible to get the hell away from that and start over somewhere else. I didn't want to end up a monster like my father, so I took off. Tried to do better."

"So… you just changed your name so you could get hired on jobs?" I assumed.

"Would you hire someone with a rap sheet like mine?" he deadpanned.

Reluctantly, I shook my head no. There was no way I would have ever given him the time of day knowing all the things he had done, had I not fallen in love with him first.

"Tell me about Laurent," I said nervously. Like I had told Emmett, I honestly didn't care about his past because it didn't dictate his future, all I needed to know was what his current plans were.

Edward shrugged. "What about him? He's just a guy I knew growing up."

"You said you knew I would find out about all of this as soon as you read about Laurent being arrested. Why?"

"Why? Because he had this crazy scheme to steal from the Cullens, and wanted me to go along with it," he admitted.

"So that's why you were doing work for Rose? So all that you just told me about wanting to do better, and starting over… it was all bullshit? You're still bullshitting me? Even now, you still can't be honest."

"I'm being as honest as I can be right now," he said, taking me aback.

"Oh, my god… You're still planning to go through with it? Is that really where you were these past few days? You didn't go visit your mother at all, did you?"

He stared at me again, but this time I actually saw all the light leave his eyes, and what was left was just nothing. Blank nothingness, as if he was able to turn off all his emotions like a light switch.

"I'm not working with him anymore. Victor Laurent is in jail," he said evenly.

"So, if he wasn't, you'd still be plotting to steal from my family with him?" I asked in surreal disbelief.

He blinked, and then looked away from me. "No, Bella, I wouldn't do that to you. Coming here wasn't even really about any of that anyway. I may have used it as an excuse in my own mind, but it was never all that important to me. I honestly haven't spoken to Laurent since I worked on Rosalie's bathroom."

"So, you were planning on robbing her?" I questioned.

"Robbing? Like sticking a gun in her face and telling her to give me all her cash? No. Never been a fan of robbing."

"Whatever you want to call it!" I said, frustrated that he thought it was okay to joke at a time like that.

He sighed. "I haven't done anything illegal in a while. Pretty much since I was in jail last. I really was trying to do a legitimate handyman business. I'm good at that stuff…. But I guess when I ran into Laurent, I thought I could… do one last thing, and… finally be set."

"So… Where were you these past few days? Did you really go visit your mom?"

"No," he admitted.

I nodded. Fully expecting that answer at that point. "You were going to meet Laurent to tell him the plan is off," I concluded.

"The plan was off since I met Rose," he clarified. "I already told you, I didn't come here for that."

"Then why did you come here?" I asked frustrated.

"To help you fix up the ranch," he said, without a trace of humor.

"Why? Because you thought it sounded fun?" I asked bitterly.

Once again he just stared at me blankly, and I automatically knew he was done talking, which only pissed me off.

"So, that's it? Conversation is just over?"

"I don't know what else there is to say," he said, sounding completely dead. "You're never going to be fully satisfied with anything I tell you, because I'm never going to tell you everything."

"Why?" I cried out. "What aren't you telling me that could possibly be worse than all of this? Worse than you planning to steal from my family?"

He pressed his lips and shook his head. "You have no idea. Things can always be worse," he said darkly.

"Why won't you just let me in?" I asked emotionally.

"You want to be let in to my deepest darkest secrets? Bella, I assure you, that is the last thing you want. I don't even…. I don't even know how to let someone in."

"I can help you," I tried assuring him.

"No. You don't get it. You're not even capable of getting it," he said before turning away from me and heading up the stairs.

Of course, I followed. "Edward," I called after him, but then I realized my mistake. "James…"

Suddenly he stopped and turned back to me. "Don't call me that!" he said in a warning tone.

"Its your name," I argued.

Once again he just shook his head at me, and then turned back to continue to our bedroom, where he immediately began grabbing the few things he had in there.

"What are you doing?" I asked, feeling like I was going to be sick.

"What does it look like? I'm getting my crap so I can leave you alone."

"No, you're not!" I said strongly, while grabbing his clothes out of his arms, and throwing them across the room. "You don't get to just run away from this."

"I haven't done anything illegal since I was arrested last. Nothing was stolen from the Cullens, so Laurent's confession to the police about me means nothing. It's not running when no one is chasing me."

"I have no intention of calling the police on you. Even if there were current warrants out for your arrest, I still wouldn't."

"Then what the hell are you telling me I can't leave for?"

"Why are you so ready to leave?" I countered. "You said you loved me. Was that a lie too?"

His entire demeanor softened from my words. "No," he murmured. "I do love you. That's why I'm leaving. I've fucked things up for you enough as it is. I'm actually shocked Emmett isn't here throwing his fist into my face."

"He doesn't know you're back yet. I told him you'd be gone for two weeks."

"Great," he said quietly, and then started grabbing the last remaining items from under the bed.

"Edward, please don't leave me," I whispered, with a new round of tears streaming down my face. I had fought them off so long, but I guess I just wasn't strong enough.

"Why… Why are you asking me to stay when I lied to you so much?" he asked confused.

"I love you. I told you that wouldn't change, and it hasn't. But I need your help, because I don't know what to do from here. Emmett said you can't stay, but… I can't stay here without you either. You belong here with me. It would never feel the same without you."

"I can't fix it. I can't change my past. Trust me, I wish I could, but…" he shook his head.

"Do you love me?" I asked him one last time. He said he did, but I just needed to hear him say it again.

"Of course I love you," he said like it was the easiest thing in the world. "How could anyone not?"

I swallowed hard. "Emmett said you had to leave, or I couldn't stay and run my business here anymore… So I contacted the people who trained the horses, and they said they'd be willing to buy them back…"

"Buy them back?" he asked incredulously. "Bella, I'm not going to let you give up your dream for me."

"I love you more than anything… and I was willing to give up everything for you…"

"Nobody… Nobody has ever cared that much about me before," he said absently. "But… I can't let you do that."

"You didn't let me finish," I told him. "I said I was going to sell the horses back, so we could have some money to live off of to get ourselves started until we found some work… but, I don't think that's an option anymore."

"Okay… So… let me leave then," he said quietly. "I'm so sorry for putting you in this position. I've screwed up so many times, but… I never wanted you to suffer because of me. I thought… I don't know what I thought. It was dumb. I should have known it was only a matter of time."

I shook my head. "I don't think leaving is an option for me anymore, but it's not for you either. I need you to stay, and we need to figure out a way to do it together."

"There's no way Emmett will allow it. He will tell his dad, and because they still have the deed…"

"Why don't you want me calling you James?" I asked, cutting him off and changing the direction of the conversation.

He shook his head. "Because… that's not my name. It's the name I was given, but it's not me. I wish I could explain it better to you, but… I can't."

"Okay…. Edward, we can't leave here, because this is where I want to raise our baby. So we are just going to have to figure out a way. Come up with some kind of plan, or even a con to convince Emmett to leave us alone. I don't care how, just figure it out because I'm really fucking terrified right now, and I need you to fix it," I told him in a rush as I fought off more tears.

"You're pregnant?" he asked, clearly in shock. "Wha-how? You said you were on birth control? I used condoms… most of the time. I don't understand. "

I shrugged. "I may have missed a few days. I don't know how or when, but my pills were definitely off track. I can't explain how it happened, but it did, so now…"

"Bella, you can't… We can't have a baby. The blood, it…." He let his words trail off as he proceeded to just stare off into space.

"Edward… What is wrong with your blood?" I asked as strongly as I was capable of in that moment. "I'm pregnant with your child. I deserve to know the truth!"

He wouldn't look at me, he just continued to stare in a stupefied daze.

"We don't have time for this," I tried reaching him. "Emmett is going to make us leave if we don't figure something else out."

"Please get an abortion," he whispered evenly. "Before it's too late, just… Please."

"You said you don't have any diseases. Was that a lie?" I asked, more concerned than ever before.

"No… I'm not sick… I don't have any diseases, but… this shouldn't have happened. I thought we were being careful enough. This world can't take another one of us…"

"Edward, what are you talking about?" I cried out.

Of course, because the situation was so screwed up, that was the moment Jasper and Alice arrived back home. I looked back at Edward, but his hollow gaze made it clear he wasn't going to tell me anything more. I was terrified by his strange words, and angry by his silence, but I couldn't focus on it at the moment, not with Alice and Jasper home. So I left Edward there alone, and went back down stairs to greet them.

"Hey, you guys weren't gone very long," I said, looking at the clock and realizing it had only been a little over an hour since they left.

"Alice changed her mind about shopping," Jasper said apologetically.

"Did she speak to you?" I asked him surprised.

"She said 'horses'. Shocked me enough to do pretty much whatever she wanted. Sorry if we're too early for whatever you wanted to do. Is everything okay?"

I forced out a smile, and nodded. "It will be. Somehow, it'll be okay." I said, still praying for some kind of solution.

The three of us went about the rest of our day as normally as possible, and I was relieved when Edward eventually came down and continued with whatever project he had been working on prior to his mystery trip. He didn't say anything, he just started moving about the property as if nothing had changed. I didn't understand it, but I suppose like Edward had said earlier, it could always be worse.

That evening Edward made dinner like normal, but that quiet tension was still there, and no one really spoke for the entire meal. Afterwards, Edward went to the area we kept our bills, and without a word, he spread them out on the kitchen table, and started going through them.

"I don't think we're going to find a solution for our problem in there," I told him quietly.

"I don't know how to fix this for you," he said emotionlessly. "Maybe if I call Emmett… or go out to the city and talk to him in person. I don't know, try to convince him that I'm not going to steal from them… Lie my way out of it somehow. Make him think I have some kind of evil twin out there, or something. I could claim they were all false charges."

"I don't think he will believe any of that," I murmured hopelessly. I really thought perhaps his past conning could help us on the matter, but he was clearly at a loss. Then again, perhaps a con was exactly what we needed after all…

"I may have just had an idea," I told him hesitantly.

"What?" he asked curiously.

We spent half the night discussing my plan, and didn't stop until we were so tired that thinking straight was impossible. I went to bed, and wasn't surprised when Edward didn't follow me. He never came that night at all, and when I woke up alone early the next morning, I worried perhaps he had left while I was sleeping.

Thankfully, that wasn't the case. I found him slumped over in the same chair I had last seen him in, and he was snoring gently.

"He's still sleeping," a little voice said, so I turned and noticed Alice there, sitting quietly in the corner.

"Hey, you're up early," I told her, becoming even more determined to save the ranch than even before. Alice had come so far, I'd hate to make her leave at that point, so I needed my plan to work.

"I didn't want to leave him out here alone," she said, ever so quietly. It was the most I had ever heard her speak at a time, and I nearly had to pick my jaw up off the floor.

"I'm sure he'd appreciate it if he knew you were out here with him," I told her softly.

We were being quiet enough, but Edward stirred regardless.

"Good morning," I told him.

"Is it really morning?" he asked groggily.

"Yep. And I've decided to go see Carlisle today. I found the paperwork I'd need online, and printed it out."

"I really don't know if it's going to work," Edward said hesitantly.

I shrugged. "It's the only idea we have. If I get there around lunch time the hospital will be at the busiest. He may be distracted just enough for it to work."

"I'm sorry you have to do this, Bella. I know you hate lying…. Especially to any of them."

"I do… but if there's a possibility of saving my home and business, I'm willing to take it."

"You do realize that it's not going to change Em's mind though, right? It may make it so you can keep this place, but it will ruin your relationship with him."

I shook my head. "Its already ruined. He didn't have to threaten me like that, no matter the reason. I don't know how we could ever recover anyway."

"Yeah, but you know he's going to talk to his parents too. They're going to be really angry when they find out about all of this. You really ready to lose your family for me?" he asked skeptically. "I'm not worth it, you know."

"I would only lose my family if you left," I said, getting choked up again. I loved the Cullens, and I didn't want to lose them or betray their trust, but my priorities were to Edward and our baby first, and I would do anything necessary to keep them secure.

In order to be there by the lunch time rush, I left the ranch early and headed for the city. As predicted, Carlisle was busy, and I used his distraction to my benefit.

"Hey, sweetheart, this is a surprise," Carlisle said to me as he walked into his office.

"Yeah, sorry for not calling first," I said as calmly as possible.

"Well, is there something I can help you with?" he asked curiously.

"I hope so. This is going to sound really strange, but…" I paused when Carlisle had to check his phone.

"I'm sorry, please continue," he said, clearly still preoccupied.

"Okay, well, I guess in order for me to properly insure the horses and the patients for my business, I need to be on the deed to the property."

Carlisle looked up, and narrowed his eyes at me. "Really? I never heard that before. Is it one of those new laws that's going into effect this coming year?" he asked confused.

I forced out a smile, and then nodded. "Yeah, I heard its some big convoluted mess. But my business attorney said if its possible for you to sign the property over to me, it could save so many steps and loops I'd have to jump through with the way it is currently. I'd like to start making payments to you so I can actually purchase it, but until then it would help me out a ton to do it this way."

I was sure Carlisle only heard about fifteen percent of what I was telling him, since he kept checking his phone, but that was exactly what I was hoping for since I didn't really know what I was even talking about.

"That sounds horrible," he said after a moment. "Look, honey, I'm really sorry, but I'm very busy today. I'll tell you what, I'll contact my lawyer and tell him to draw up whatever paperwork you need. Just give him a call…"

"Actually, I already have the paperwork here. I just need you to sign it… I've asked the notary here to come sign as well," I said in a rush, hoping he didn't have time to overthink any of it.

I handed Carlisle the deed paperwork I had brought so he could glance over it, and then I brought in the notary the hospital had on staff.

Carlisle didn't have any reason not to trust me, so he signed the papers, and after it was notarized, he hugged me goodbye, and then hurried back to work.

I couldn't believe it actually worked. I had the deed to my property signed over to me, thus making my home and business officially and completely mine. I felt absolutely horrible for doing it that way, but I honestly didn't see any other choice.

It was such a bittersweet moment. I had made it so Emmett couldn't have us removed from the property, but would it really end up causing all of the Cullens to hate me? What would it mean for Alice? It was all too much to think about while driving, so I cranked up the music, and tried to keep my mind off of it until I was in a safer location to let it all sink in.

I made excellent time and got home before dinner, and wasn't surprised to see Jasper's car gone. He was probably off enjoying his independence again, and I certainly didn't blame him. What did surprise me, however, was that the house seemed to be empty.

"Hello?" I called out.

Edward's car was still in the driveway, so they either all left in Jasper's car together, or Alice and Edward were still on the property somewhere.

It was close to dark, so I didn't think they were out doing chores, but the house didn't have any lights on, the TV's were off, and the bathroom was vacant.

"Where is everyone?" I asked myself. It was strange, and suddenly I had a painful sinking feeling deep inside my gut. Something was very wrong.

It was too early for bed, and Alice pretty much always refused to go to her room for any other reason besides sleep, so I really didn't think they'd be upstairs, however not knowing where else to look, I headed up. I checked our room first, and it was also dark and empty, but then I looked towards Alice's room and saw a dim light coming from under the door.

My stomach twisted.

I had no clue as to what could possibly be happening in her room, but not even my darkest nightmares could prepare me for what I found once I opened her door…